Former Pizza Hut owner put in liquidation following significant fine

A whopping fine for exploiting a delivery driver and falsifying documents couldn’t be paid by the former franchise owner, forcing the Federal Court to put his company into liquidation.

THE former owner of a Pizza Hut store who used a sham contract to exploit a delivery driver has had his company put into liquidation, unable to pay a $216,000 fine.

Dong Zhao’s company Skyter Trade Pty Ltd was placed under external administration by an order of the Federal Court on September 13.

The Fair Work Ombudsman applied to the court on July 26 to wind-up Skyter Trade for non-payment of a $216,700 fine.

The mammoth penalty was incurred in 2018 when Skyter Trade operated the Pizza Hut restaurant at Upper Coomera.

Mr Zhao, a Chinese-born businessman, was fined $36,700, and his company, Skyter Trade was hit with a $180,000 penalty last year for creating a sham contract and underpaying a delivery driver by about $6000.

Mr Zhao asked the driver to provide an ABN and then treated him as an independent contractor, instead of an employee.

Dong Zhao operated the Pizza Hut at Upper Coomera where he underpaid a delivery driver by about $6000. Picture: AAP Image/Angelo Velardo

It meant between November 2015 and May 2016 the driver was paid a flat rate of $16 an hour instead of at least $20.36 for ordinary hours, and up to $40.72 for overtime and public holiday work.

The driver has since received back-pay and Mr Zhao no longer operates the Pizza Hut franchise.

Federal Circuit Court Judge Michael Jarrett last year said Mr Zhao also falsified documents to conceal his wrongdoing, failed to keep proper records and provide pay slips to employees.

On Friday Ian Currie of BRI Ferrier was appointed liquidator to the company.

Mr Currie said an investigation into the company’s operations was in its infancy.

Mr Zhao could not be contacted for comment.

Originally published as Former Pizza Hut owner put in liquidation following significant fine